Dems Angling for New Dreamers Legislation

Castro to headline Wyoming Democrats’ dinner.

“Nearly two-dozen senators from both parties want to offer legislation next week that would protect almost 700,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation, but they’re stuck on whether their measure should protect the parents of these immigrants from deportation too.

“Most Democrats want to preserve the so-called ‘chain migration’ system that lets newly documented immigrants line family members up to attain legal status. Many conservative lawmakers counter this system has to end or at least be substantially scaled back.”

“Lawmakers have been meeting almost daily. … They’ve even delighted over the use of a ‘talking stick’ to curb interruptions during heated debates. Leaving one such meeting Thursday afternoon, senators routinely cited ‘progress.’

“But so far, no amount of sweets or gimmicks have helped lawmakers overcome major divides.”(McClatchy)

BIDEN. Former Vice President Joe Biden “criticized the White House Thursday for allowing a top aide to President Trump to stay on despite apparent knowledge of his alleged history of domestic abuse. That aide, White House staff secretary Rob Porter, resigned Wednesday after the allegations became public.

CUOMO. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) “launched a ‘tax fairness campaign’ Thursday encouraging residents to urge federal lawmakers to repeal a provision in the new federal tax law that caps state and local deductions at $10,000. In a speech … Cuomo characterized the legislation, signed into law late last year by … Trump, as politically motivated.”

“‘This is a transfer of wealth from one area of the country to another,’ Cuomo told a crowd of seniors and labor leaders. ‘It’s not fair. That’s exactly what this is. You’re taking from the Democratic states and you’re giving it to the Republican states. And that’s politics on a level this nation has never played before.’” (Newsday)

MOULTON. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) said “he wants a ‘new generation of Democrats’ to stand bravely up against ‘the party establishment’ of Democrats, who he describes as those who would rather talk poorly about Republicans than talk positively about their own visions.

“‘The party establishment has gotten us into a terrible position right now,’ he said. ‘We don’t control anything in Washington… . The thing about veterans, they know how to challenge the establishment. They’re not afraid to take on the people in control. They’re not afraid to put people over politics or over their political party,’ he said.” (Boston Globe)

WYOMING. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro (D) is scheduled to headline Wyoming Democrats’ “Nellie Tayloe Ross Dinner and Auction on Saturday, February 24th at the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming.” (release)

HARASSMENT. California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D), “whose high-profile advocacy of the #MeToo movement earned her national media notice, is herself the subject of a state legislative investigation in the wake of a report that she sexually harassed and groped a former legislative staffer.

“In December, when Time magazine announced that ‘Silence Breakers’ who spoke out against sexual harassment were its Persons of the Year, Garcia’s face was prominently included in the art accompanying the cover story.”

“But Daniel Fierro of Cerritos” said that in 2014, “as a 25-year-old staffer to Assemblyman Ian Calderon, he was groped by Garcia, a powerful Democratic lawmaker who chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus and the Natural Resources Committee.”

“The accusations against Garcia come at the close of months of high-profile activism on the issue of sexual harassment by the assemblywoman, who became one of Sacramento’s leading voices on #MeToo issue.” (Politico)

"President Trump signed a sweeping spending bill Friday afternoon, averting another partial government shutdown. The action came after Trump had declared a national emergency in a move designed to circumvent Congress and build additional barriers at the southern border, where he said the United States faces 'an invasion of our country.'"

Source:

REDIRECTS $8 BILLION

Trump Declares National Emergency

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"President Donald Trump on Friday declared a state of emergency on the southern border and immediately direct $8 billion to construct or repair as many as 234 miles of a border barrier. The move — which is sure to invite vigorous legal challenges from activists and government officials — comes after Trump failed to get the $5.7 billion he was seeking from lawmakers. Instead, Trump agreed to sign a deal that included just $1.375 for border security."

Source:

COULD SOW DIVISION AMONG REPUBLICANS

House Will Condemn Emergency Declaration

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"House Democrats are gearing up to pass a joint resolution disapproving of President Trump’s emergency declaration to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall, a move that will force Senate Republicans to vote on a contentious issue that divides their party. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Thursday evening in an interview with The Washington Post that the House would take up the resolution in the coming days or weeks. The measure is expected to easily clear the Democratic-led House, and because it would be privileged, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be forced to put the resolution to a vote that he could lose."

Source:

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DRUG FORFEITURE FUND

Where Will the Emergency Money Come From?

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"ABC News has learned the president plans to announce on Friday his intention to spend about $8 billion on the border wall with a mix of spending from Congressional appropriations approved Thursday night, executive action and an emergency declaration. A senior White House official familiar with the plan told ABC News that $1.375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department's drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion would come from the Pentagon's drug interdiction program; and through an emergency declaration: $3.5 billion from the Pentagon's military construction budget."

Source:

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SIGN

House Passes Funding Deal

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"The House passed a massive border and budget bill that would avert a shutdown and keep the government funded through the end of September. The Senate passed the measure earlier Thursday. The bill provides $1.375 billion for fences, far short of the $5.7 billion President Trump had demanded to fund steel walls. But the president says he will sign the legislation, and instead seek to fund his border wall by declaring a national emergency."